RAGS TO RICHES TALE OF DREVER TRAINER

Howard Johnson's alliance with millionaire owner Graham Wylie brought a new edge to the National Hunt world - especially on the northern circuit.

County Durham trainer Johnson, suspended for four years following a British Horseracing Authority investigation centring around the running of the Wylie-owned Striking Article in contravention to welfare rules, had always been a capable handler, having spent time with the legendary northern stalwart Arthur Stephenson.

Notable pre-Wylie successes included Ushers Island, winner of the 1994 Whitbread Gold Cup as well as at the previous year's Cheltenham Festival.

Morceli was a brilliant novice chaser, as he showed when winning at the Aintree National meeting in 1995, while Direct Route can be regarded as one of the great two-milers, plundering five Group One events over fences, among them the 1998 Tingle Creek Trophy at Sandown.

It is for a defeat, however, that Direct Route will always be part of racing folklore, as his short-head reverse to the Tony McCoy-ridden Edredon Bleu in a three-way battle with Flagship Uberalles for the 2000 Queen Mother Champion Chase was one of the greatest races ever seen at the home of jumps racing.

Then there is the dashing Grey Abbey, a gallant front-runner loved by the public and up there with the best staying chasers of his generation, with the 2004 Scottish Grand National taking pride of place on his CV.

But the ammunition supplied by long-time Newcastle United fan and computer software magnate Wylie, once tagged 'Tyneside's first billionaire', took Johnson to another level.

Wylie's first horse was the top-class grey Lord Transcend, named after his wife Andrea's hair salon, and the couple soon caught the bug.

Lord Transcend was a tremendous talent and while he had his problems, he beat Deano's Beeno over hurdles, finished fourth in the 2004 Hennessy as a novice and won the Peter Marsh at Haydock. No wonder he has a special place in the affections of the Wylies.

Arcalis won the John Smith's Cup on the Flat at York for the Johnson-Wylie axis in 2004, and the following year that horse was to form part of a never-to-be-forgotten Cheltenham for the pair.

Arcalis won the Supreme Novices' Hurdle with real authority on the opening day, with No Refuge powering home in the SunAlliance Hurdle the following afternoon.

Little were we to know it, but on the Thursday a new era among staying hurdlers would begin as Inglis Drever swept aside old master Baracouda in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle.

Injury ruled the former Sir Mark Prescott-trained Inglis Drever out of the following year's renewal, but he returned in 2007 and 2008 to become the first horse to win the race three times.

The three wins came under different jockeys - Graham Lee, Paddy Brennan and Denis O'Regan - who all held the position of stable jockey at White Lea Farm, a role that has seen a high turnover of riders in a relatively short space of time.

Inglis Drever was retired after being pulled up at Newbury in November 2008 and died the following year after contracting colic.

The enigmatic Tidal Bay was another renowned Johnson-Wylie Cheltenham winner and the best the duo have had together over fences.

Runner-up in the 2007 Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle, Tidal Bay returned to Cheltenham to claim the Arkle Trophy and backed it up when landing the equivalent event at Aintree.

It has not just been on the jumping front that Johnson and Wylie have made the headlines. A first Royal Ascot success for trainer and owner came in 2005 when the showpiece meeting was held at York, with Masta Plasta in the Norfolk Stakes.

South Central repeated the trick in the same race in 2008, both horses running under the Transcend Bloodstock banner and ridden by Robert Winston.

The last couple of years have been quieter, although the victory of the exciting Back In Focus at Haydock in February promised much for the years ahead.

What that future now holds remains to be seen.

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